Jennings's Secret
by ClockworkScales
Summary: Keith Jennings is a photographer hired to take pictures at Damien Thorn's birthday party. He manages to get the nanny Holly away for an interview, but spots a rottweiler by the river... One shot. Characters are from The Omen (1976).


Keith Jennings knelt a good meter away from Damien and held up his camera.

'Say cheese!' he grinned.

Damien's face contorted, and he darted behind Holly's legs before Jennings could take the shot. Holly was a young, pretty maid who was hired by the Thorn household. Holly sighed and patted Damien on the head as he hid behind her. She look apologetically at Jennings, who was getting to his feet.

'I'm very sorry, he doesn't normally act this way in front of cameras.'

'Yes, I noticed,' Jennings said, frowning. He stared at the hem of Damien's pants, visible between the maid's legs. Jennings peered at Holly and bowed his head. 'Do you mind if I take a photo of you, then? I want to make sure I get a photograph of every single person at the party.'

'Not at all!' Holly exclaimed. Jennings grinned and snapped a few photos.

'Very pretty,' Jennings commented, beaming. 'Thank you very much!'

'You're welcome,' Holly said. She jumped as Damien pulled at the hem of her dress and tried to drag her away. 'Oh, I think Damien wants to go on the merry-go-round.'

Jennings nodded and watched the two trot away towards the large machine nearby. The Thorn's mansion stood proudly at the top of the hill. Jennings took another photograph of it. He thought in silence for some time before following after Holly and Damien. He hoped to get at least one photograph of Damien on his own, but he always seemed to hide his face amongst his family members – and Holly, of course. Jennings stood next to Holly as Damien went around on the merry-go-round.

'While you're here, do you mind if we do a quick interview? The papers like to have brief descriptions to go with their photographs, you see.'

Holly glanced at Jennings. His eyes were eager.

'I'm afraid you'll have to ask Mr. Thorn if you can interview me. I don't know how much I am allowed to say without his permission, you see,' Holly said plainly. 'Besides,' she nodded at the merry-go-round. 'I've got to keep an eye on Damien. And it's probably too noisy to do the interview here.'

Jennings looked disappointed. The Thorns didn't agree to interviews often, even – no, _especially_ not - on special occasions. 'But you're more than just a maid. Surely you can't tell me a bit about your life outside of the Thorn household?'

'I suppose I could.' Holly stood in silence for a few moments. 'Let me just get somebody to keep an eye on Damien, okay?'

'All right.'

Jennings waited by the merry-go-round until Mr. Thorn came nearby. Jennings forced a smile on his face as Mr. Thorn looked towards him.

Holly's blue dress came into sight.

'Very well, let's head toward the woods. There'll be a lot less distractions around,' she said.

Jennings nodded and walked alongside Holly through the trees. As they walked he managed to capture a few more photographs of her. He nearly tripped a few times though, so her head didn't always fit clearly in the viewfinder. Jennings let his camera fall at his neck. He pulled out a small tape recorder.

'I don't often do recordings, but since visitors to this event are limited, they wanted me to bring something just in case.'

Holly seemed unperturbed by this information. They walked past a few trees and the river came in sight. They approached a bench that was facing the river and sat down. As they did, Jennings caught sight of a large rottweiler across the river. He eyed it, curious, but the dog soon disappeared. Jennings shook his head. He placed the recorder on the bench between them. He pressed the record button and the tape hummed away.

'So, what would you like to know?' Holly asked.

'Ah, well I suppose a reasonable question might be how you came to work for the Thorns in the first place. Did you previously work as a nanny?'

Holly looked thoughtful.

'I suppose I did. I worked at a library once when I was in high school. One of the reasons I managed to get hired by the Thorns was because they wanted a nanny who was well educated. I had a background in literature and they liked the sound of that, I think.'

Jennings nodded, his eyes unconsciously drawn to her pink lips. He nodded again, trying to snap his gaze away.

'What sort of books do you like?'

Holly smiled. 'Oh, the usual. A bit of fantasy, a bit of romance... Some horror here and there. Really, I read whatever I can get my hands on. The Thorns have a very extensive library so I read some of their books in my spare time.'

As Jennings listened to Holly, he couldn't help but eye her. She looked plain, but pretty. She was well spoken and presented herself well. She was very cool and collected. Jennings listened to Holly talk about her love of literature and how she loved working as a nanny for the Thorns. Suddenly, he blurted out a question without thinking.

'Do you have a boyfriend – partner? A husband, perhaps?'

Holly frowned, though seemed to consider it a fair question. Jennings wiped his forehead with the back of his hand, wondering why he was feeling so hot all of a sudden. Where did that come from? Suddenly it seemed as if he were looking upon the scene as an outsider.

'I don't have a boyfriend, no. I was never really -'

Jennings had no idea what had come over him. Mid sentence, he grasped Holly's hip and slipped towards her. As if he were possessed, his lips pressed firmly against hers, holding her steady in his grip. For a second, she seemed too stunned to do anything and her lips moved passively in response to his own. But then she pushed him back with surprising strength.

Jennings opened his eyes and stared at Holly. In the gentle sunlight, he noted a blush cross her cheeks. Her eyes were wide.

'I am so sorry,' Jennings began, stuttering. 'I have no idea what came over me.'

He fumbled with the recorder, his finger pressing the record button down so it flicked back, stopping the tape from rolling. He shoved the recorder in his jacket pocket.

'Please forgive me,' Jennings said, his eyes just as wide as Holly's. 'I honestly - I really don't feel myself right now. I'm not sure what happened. I'm terribly sorry.'

Holly's eyebrows were raised. Suddenly, as if she had just realised what had happened, her eyebrows narrowed.

'Just because I'm a nanny doesn't mean you can do whatever you like with me!'

'You don't understand,' Jennings pleaded. 'I would never - '

He paused, feeling returning to his body and fingers. He no longer felt detached, only an uncomfortable jerk back to reality. It was a bit of a shock to realise just how cold he felt. The air was chilly, as if winter had come early that year. Hadn't he felt hot not a few moments ago?

'Truly, I am very sorry,' Jennings said again. He motioned back towards the woods. 'Please, let me walk you back to the party.'

Holly held her arms by her sides and walked a ahead of Jennings. They left the river behind, the dog nowhere to be seen.

Jennings felt guilty and confused. Just what had come over him in those moments? It was very unprofessional of him. He relayed this thought to Holly, who seemed to walk a bit slower.

'Look – it's okay, just forget about it. It's been a busy day. We'll just have to act like nothing had ever happened.'

Holly went straight back to Damien once they returned to the festivities, and Jennings head towards the food tables. He tried to keep his mind off of what had happened. He tried to enjoy the party as much as an outsider could, though he touched the recorder every so often with uncertainty. He really hadn't felt himself as he had kissed her. It really was as if he had been possessed. But maybe Holly was right, maybe it was the nerves from the day.

When he next saw Holly, she was standing on the balcony of the Thorn's mansion. She jumped off the ledge and hung herself, a window smashing behind her as it took her weight. Jennings managed to snap a few photos, instinctively knowing he'd be fired if he didn't. But after the photos were taken he couldn't help but feel... somehow responsible for her death. His surroundings were pandemonium, and understandably so. For Holly, the Thorn's nanny, to jump to her death at Damien's birthday party was certainly a shock – to say the very least. _Something_ must have happened. Something like sexual harassment from a visiting photographer, perhaps?

Jennings reached into his pocket and deleted the recording on the tape.

He couldn't help but wonder... Was he responsible?

It was the most horrible feeling.


End file.
